Star Trek: Discovery: New Starfleet Insignia Revealed in Season 3 Opening

Star Trek: Discovery returns this week for its third season, and it is giving Starfleet's iconic insignia a new look. This Thursday, the third season premiere of Star Trek: Discovery airs on CBS All Access. Ahead of the episode's debut, CBS All Access revealed the show's updated opening credits sequence. As with the second season's opening credits, this season's opening features new elements that reference events to come. That includes a moment when the Starfleet insignias that are currently worn by the Discovery crew transform into the updated 32nd-century insignia previously seen in promotional materials, offering fans their best look yet at the new Starfleet badges.

Instead of having the delta shape that the first Discovery insignia uses, this new badge is oval. The delta symbol is etched into the right-hand side. Keeping in tradition with the original Discovery badge, the emblem displays the officer's rank on the left-hand side. In this image, we can see four pips for captain in the center, three for a commander on the left, and one for an ensign on the right. The design looks like a blend of the original Discovery badges and the Bajoran combadges from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. See for yourself in the image below.

The opening also offers a look at Starfleet-branded robots, a new starship, and what appears to be an updated phaser design. You can see the entire opening credits sequence above.

While much about Discovery's 32nd-century setting remains a mystery, we know that the United Federation of Planets still exists in a diminished state. Star Doug Jones said in the past that the new season is going to reveal the Federation's fate.

"We jumped to the future at the end of season two. This is a big deal. We've boldly gone where no Star Trek series has gone before," Jones says. "So we're going to see what happens in the future. What condition is the Federation in? We're going to find out when we land. What happens to me and my rank? I'm a Commander, but I'm also acting Captain of the ship because we lost all our captains now. I take the ship, and so, do I get to keep the Captain's chair? Do I have to give it away to another Federation/Starfleet captain in the future? We're going to find out all that when we get there."

Star Trek: Discovery Season Three premieres on Thursday, October 15th on CBS All Access.